In 2012 a paraplegic moved a robotic arm with 7 degrees of freedom at University of Pittsburgh

VIDEO: 9 min. 14 sec. By 2012, the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was conducting electrode brain implants with capability of moving 7 degrees of freedom. Jan Scheuerman was able to manipulate the robotic arm with two implanted microelectrode arrays, as seen in the video below:

”One Giant Bite: Woman with Quadriplegia Feeds Herself Chocolate Using Mind-Controlled Robot Arm”

VIDEO: 4 min. 29 sec. Also in 2012, Braingate, at Brown University, accomplished a similar feat:

Also in 2012, a paralyzed woman moved a robot with her mind at Brown University, Rhode Island

By 2015, Braingate/Brown University had implanted EEG electrodes in 5 human volunteers.

VIDEO 3 min. 42 sec. Braingate Professor Donohue was interviewed at the World Science Festival in May, 2015, indicated 5 individuals had received an implant for brain-computer interface/control at this time:

For more information on Braingate, see this link.

Before returning to the EEG and electrode implantation research of Dr. Nicolelis, it will be worthwhile to note that the electrode implantation carried a risk of gliosis (the process of scarring in the central nervous system). Gliosis tends to cause the electrodes to lose their sensitivity as neural transmitters, so that an implanted device would lose efficacy over time.

To see how Daniel Moran and his team sought to minimize such problems an Epidural Electrocortigraphic (EECoG) approach, visit the next page.